Bharat Forge inks MoU for multi-product SEZ

MUMBAI: Auto component major Bharat Forge has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Maharashtra government to set up a multi-product special economic zone (SEZ) in Pune's Khed district.

The SEZ will be spread over 2000 hectares of land and is expected to attract over Rs 25,000 crore in investments.

The project is a 75:25 joint venture between Bharat Forge and Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC). Bharat Forge expects to invest Rs 1,500 crore-Rs 2,000 crore in the project over the next two and a half years to make the SEZ operational.

Bharat Forge chairman Baba Kalyani said that the company will invest Rs 8,000 crore- Rs 9,000 crore in the SEZ over the next 10 years. Bharat Forge will look at scaling up the size of the SEZ from 2,000 hectares to 5,000 hectares over a period of time.

The SEZ is expected to create over 1,20,000 jobs and will house an engineering college which will be affiliated with the University of Warwick. The college is expected to address the problem of skilled man power shortage, specifically that of engineers, in the manufacturing sector.

Besides this, Bharat Forge is also looking at setting up a plant in Baramati for non-auto forging and machining. The company will invest Rs 300 crore over the next three years to set up this new facility.